


Of Commodores and Pirates

by areyoukiddingme



Series: We Can't Direct the Waves [1]
Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: 1800s, Attempted Sexual Assault, British, Developing Relationship, F/M, Georgian Period, Hurt/Comfort, No Smut, Pirates, Prison, Protectiveness, Romance, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-05-29 23:52:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15084479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/areyoukiddingme/pseuds/areyoukiddingme
Summary: "Take pity on me! They took me from my home, I didn't want any part in this." She tried to convince me desperately. "Spare me, please."I looked down with amusement in my eyes at her making such a scene. In one smooth motion, I pulled my sword from its hilt, testing it in my hand before holding it to her neck. Her eyes narrowed and she let go of my hem, sinking back onto her heels with a challenging look on her face."You may think me naïve, but I have heard of such a thing as female pirates." I informed her."You're very open-minded." She leaned incrementally away from the blade at her neck. "Most men fall for that story."~James Norrington can't be falling for a pirate. Told from his POV.





	1. Chapter 1

I watched as the two halves of the boat sunk beneath the waves, leaving nothing but debris and shattered pieces of wood floating on the surface of the water. I hadn't set out to sink a pirate ship today, neither was it my job to. But they were ardent in their attempt to ambush and overpower us, so we had to take a stand, leaving them with nothing but a few planks of wood and an entire crew in the custody of a British naval ship.

My men pulled any survivors on board and took them down to the brig while I watched comfortably from the helm. Some of the pirates had managed to balance themselves on the remains of their ship while others came up over the side having had an unexpected dip in the ocean, their clothes dripping and limbs juddering from the cold.

"Is that all of them?" I asked as they pulled up yet another pirate.

"One more sir!" An officer called up.

At this, I started making my way down to the deck. I thought that I may as well interrogate one of them to ask them their destination. And, in addition to this, why they thought ambushing a naval ship was a good idea. The final pirate had been unfortunate, and they came over the side dripping wet and soaked in seawater. There was something off about them, but it was only once I got closer that I realised why. Their clothes blended into a dress and when they pushed seawater-soaked hair from their face I noticed that their features were distinctly feminine.

"A woman?" One of my officers scoffed.

Making a move to get up, she was halted by her compulsion to cough up seawater on the deck of the ship. She settled for merely glaring at him from her lowered standpoint. Despite being a sopping heap on the floor, somehow she still managed to look intimidating. Upon seeing me, that angry look was gone in an instant, however, and was replaced by something altogether more innocent. Sensing my authority, her eyes widened endearingly and she pushed herself towards me to grip at the hem of my jacket. My natural instinct was to pull away but I ignored this urge and refused to move. I was intrigued as to how this scene would play out.

"Take pity on me! They took me from my home, I didn't want any part in this." She tried to convince me desperately. "Spare me, please."

I looked down with amusement in my eyes at her making such a scene. In one smooth motion, I pulled my sword from its hilt, testing it in my hand before holding it to her neck. Her eyes narrowed and she let go of my hem, sinking back onto her heels with a challenging look on her face.

"You may think me naïve, but I have heard of such a thing as female pirates." I informed her.

"You're very open-minded." She leaned incrementally away from the blade at her neck. "Most men fall for that story."

"Bad luck to have a woman on board." One of my crew mumbled behind me.

"Men like him." She scowled.

"Shut up." I ordered my officers tersely and pressed the blade closer to her neck to reclaim her attention.

"Where were you headed?" I asked her shortly.

She shrugged.

"I don't want to repeat myself." I threatened her.

She rolled her eyes as if having a blade held at your neck was an everyday occurrence to her, a minor inconvenience as opposed to an imminent threat to her life.

"We didn't know." She told me in a bored voice. "We were just going where the wind took us."

"Seems like a poor system of navigation."

"It would. To someone like you." She somehow managed to look down on me from her lowered position and I shifted uncomfortably.

"Why did you attack our ship?" I asked, swiftly moving the conversation along. She looked sorely tempted to shrug again, but knew that she wouldn't get far if she chose that method of replying.

"You may think we're stupid, but we knew you weren't a cargo ship." She looked up at me evenly. "You might have had some valuables though, a couple of pocket-watches."

"You'd risk your ship for a few pocket-watches?"

"The men were spoiling for a fight." She sighed, giving another weak explanation for their rash actions.

"No wonder, if you're relying on wind for navigation." I joked, something that she clearly didn't appreciate. "Have you ever heard of picking your battles?"

"Have you ever heard that you're an arrogant bastard?"

She smiled up at me sweetly and I saw red, impulsively lunging forward and pressing the blade closer to her neck. With my lowered standpoint, we were almost eye-to-eye and her eyes were confidently staring me down, almost daring me to do something.

"You're very good with your sword." She muttered, not in the least bit put-out. "Very firm, very... aggressive. Admirable qualities in a man."

I almost instantly dropped the blade from her neck, perturbed at the words coming from a lady’s mouth. She smiled up at me idly, not betraying anything.

"Take her to the brig." I ordered.

The men hesitated, so I had to repeat myself more firmly and watched as they pulled her upright by her armpits. She gave me a scalding look before they dragged her away.

"It was pleasant talking to you." She called over her shoulder. "If you ever feel like threatening a woman again, you know where to find me."

* * *

I let the new passengers fester for several hours while I dealt with more pressing navigational and logistical issues. Unfortunately, I had to acknowledge their existence at some point, and so I went down to the brig in the company of my lieutenant, Rodgers. The brig was not made for an entire crew of pirates and so they stood on one another's toes, some of them still dripping from their unanticipated dip in the ocean.

"Gentlemen. I'd like to speak with your captain." I stood before the brig, crossing my hands behind my back.

They all looked to one another, having conversations through sideways glances and shifty eyes.

"Did they survive the scuffle?" I asked them tersely, and some of them nodded. "Then tell me who it is."

At this, the men parted to reveal the young woman who I had talked to earlier. She still had the same ease and command from before, lazily looping her arms through the bars of the cell and smiling at me despite her bedraggled appearance.

"Is someone looking for me?"

"I did not come down here to play games, gentlemen. Tell me who your captain is." I ordered them.

"I thought you were open-minded?" She pouted, pressing her face to the bars.

"I may be open-minded, but I'm not stupid. Now, why on earth would these ruffians take orders from a woman?"

"Because they respect me." She responded sharply. "What is it you want?"

"You're sticking with this story?" I asked the pirates in disbelief.

They stared back at me petulantly, so I was forced to accept her claim, no matter how ridiculous it was. At least I could take solace in the fact that if I were being made a fool of, they would gain nothing from it. They were under my custody and in the middle of the ocean, no amount of bluffing could get them out of it. I got the jailer to open the brig and she stepped out alone. A lot of the pirates were loathed to see her go, but she was so stalwart and resolute that no-one dared second guess her. At least not verbally.

I gestured at her to follow me and she did so, Rodgers trailing behind her as we made our way to the captain's quarters. As soon as we arrived, I settled myself behind my desk and gestured at her to sit down, which she refused. My lieutenant stood at the door lest she try to escape. I didn't exactly know what a woman on board a ship in the middle of the ocean could do, but one can never be to careful, I supposed.

"Why did you take me away from my crew?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

She was still wet despite her best efforts and she tried to conceal her limbs shaking from the cold. A wave of pity washed over me which I had to squash quickly, before I started making her tea and giving her blankets. Before she had me wrapped around her little finger as all of the other men in the brig. I had to remind myself that she was a pirate, and a damned good one if she truly was the one who commanded that lot downstairs.

"I have a proposition for you."

"What proposition?" She asked sharply. "What could you possibly want from us? You sunk our ship, you already know we have nothing to offer you."

I leaned back in my chair slightly. My lieutenant was glaring daggers at me, which I ignored. He was not as on board with this plan as I was.

"Recently, there was an epidemic of the scarlet fever on board. While we managed to contain the disease before it got out of hand, many good men died in quarantine, leaving us with a skeleton crew. While the last thing I would like to do is employ pirates, it is either that or arrive at the next port asking for help in which any scoundrel may board my ship and take advantage of it. I fear we wouldn't survive the time it took to get to the next port where I could hire reliable British men. So, I am forced to extend this offer... to you."

Once I finished speaking, she crossed her arms over herself and shuddered.

"Better the devil you know?"

"Precisely."

"And why would we help you?" She asked incredulously.

"I'll put it like this; if you help us get to our destination, I'll let you and all of your crew go free. If you refuse, you stay in the brig for until our next port of call, where we'll give you in to the local authorities and you'll be hung as pirates."

She didn't react quite as strongly as I wanted her to at the threat of hanging, she merely stuck her chin out, rubbing at her arms idly.

"May I discuss this with my crew?"

"Of course." I gestured at Rodgers to step forward, and he took her by the elbow. "Let me know when you have made your decision."

She nodded before allowing herself to be led away by my lieutenant.

* * *

Rodgers and I resumed working until a cabin boy came up and pulled him away, indicating that the pirate captain had made her decision. She came into my quarters determined as ever and stopped at my desk, folding her arms and shifting her weight to one foot.

"We accept your proposition." She declared, her chin held high. "But under one condition."

"What is it?"

"Fresh clothes. Many of my crew are still suffering from wet clothes, and pneumonia is very low on my list of things I wish to accomplish in my lifetime."

"Very well. I can provide your crew with spare crew uniforms, and I'm sure some of the men have bought for their wives." I spoke, accepting her condition. "Welcome on board, Captain."

I stood and leaned over my desk, extending my hand to her. She uncrossed her arms, reaching out and shaking my hand firmly. While her hand was in my own, I pulled her closer to me and she stumbled forward, glaring at me for the unexpected manhandling.

"But let me warn you. If there is even a _whisper_ of mutiny, I'll force you all back down to the brig and you'll be hung the moment we find dry land." I hissed.

She wrenched her hand from my own, glaring at me with hard eyes.

"I may be a pirate, but I am a woman of my word." She assured me. "If there is any talk of mutiny among my crew, I shall discipline them myself."

Her eyes flashed dangerously and I was momentarily disturbed again. I was unused to being scared by a woman, and while I found it a novelty now I didn't want to discover what it felt like to be at the other end of her blade.

"Lieutenant. Release the pirates and show them the crew's quarters, they can take any spare bunks that belong to deceased members of the party." I addressed the man standing at the back of the room, before turning to the woman. "You can take the now-uninhabited officer's quarters that belonged to Michaels before he passed. You and your crew can assemble tomorrow on deck with the rest of the ship. I'll have someone wash your clothes and ready more for the morning."

She nodded at me gratefully and Rodgers stepped forward to place his hand on her elbow again.

"Thank you. You're very human." She expressed her gratitude honestly before allowing herself to be led away.

* * *

I went to bed that night, and the next morning I had almost forgotten about the pirates until roll-call in the morning. I had a nasty shock at the many unfamiliar, unshaven men standing amongst my officers, all wearing ill-fitting naval uniforms and looking positively alien next to my crew. They were docile enough, but as I made my way to address the crowd I was pushed forcefully to the side.

"What the hell is this?" The female captain expressed angrily at me, before looking around to check that she wasn't making a scene.

"What?"

She gestured to the dress that she was now wearing. It made a change to the brown, damp thing that she was wearing yesterday, but she didn't seem to think so. From what I could see it fit her well, but perhaps a little too well as her assets were accentuated tenfold and I noticed how small her waist was. The only other striking thing about it was that it was pure white. A very inappropriate colour for a pirate.

"I didn't pick it for you. You're lucky we had anything on board this ship."

"I'd rather wear curtains." She spat. "This is ridiculous. Is this fashion among the higher classes?!"

"I believe so." I flustered.

This wasn't really my area of expertise, and I would really have preferred it if she was shouting at someone else.

"So it's proper for women to wear a cage?"

"It's not a cage." I responded disdainfully.

"Oh really? Perhaps I'll show you the inside of this trap sometime, and we can compare it." She picked at the fabric angrily, but she knew there was nothing I could do about it.

"I want my clothes back as soon as possible." She addressed the floor before turning, picking up her skirts so she could walk adequately towards her crew.

After this unprompted assault, I finally stood to address the crowd.

"Gentlemen. Allow me to address the elephant in the room."

I then proceeded to explain the pirates and their situation before allocating roles for the day. Once I finished, I clapped my hands and all of my men set out to work. The pirates, on the other hand, stood still and motionless, continuing to stare up at me.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" I asked, irritated. 

"If I may?" The woman swaggered forward, smirking at me. "It appears my men won't take orders from anyone other than their Captain."

I looked to her, then back to her men. They had already lost their ship. I didn't want to put any more strain on our relationship, so I was exceedingly generous in my response.

"It appears that we have just become partners then." I held out my hand and she shook it eagerly.

"I won't let you down." She smiled easily at me, turning and clapping her own hands at her crew. "As the man says!"

As she set about getting her own men to their places, my lieutenant sidled up behind me.

"You didn't just make an alliance with the pirate, did you?" Rodgers sneered at me.

My anger flared up at my authority being undermined. I had never truly liked my lieutenant, but we were forced on a ship together and our relationship was strictly professional. We didn't have to agree on personal matters, and in the end I always had final say no matter what his opinion was. I trusted my intuition and I couldn't foresee anything going wrong, so long as the pirates complied and their captain remained amiable.

* * *

The first day integrating the pirates went about as smoothly as expected. I had anticipated some brawls or tension, but nothing of the sort occurred. The only issue was the pirates work ethic, which was... lax, to say the least. But she kept them in good check and forced them to work when she could see me glaring at her crew out of the corner of my eye.

The first night in the mess hall was an interesting one too. Along the one long table we ate at, my officers sat at one half while the pirates sat on the other. They didn't say grace, but apart from that they were perfectly agreeable. The only other difference was the pirates speaking loudly and boisterously, while my officers got their elbows nudged and looked uncomfortably from one to the other. I watched the scene from the head of the table and struggled not to laugh. It was almost funny, when one was watching from an objective point of view.

Once people started to retire for the night, I stood and approached the pirate captain. A few of the pirates' body language shifted defensively but I refused to be intimidated.

"May we discuss your position in my quarters?" I asked her openly, making sure that her comrades could hear.

"With pleasure." She accepted, seemingly glad of a change of scene.

She stood and followed me to the captain's quarters. I sat myself behind my desk again and this time she did accept my offer of a seat. She slouched into it, draping her legs lazily over the edge. In my few encounters with pirates, I had always noticed and envied their ability to appear at home in any situation. The way she sat in my chair made her seem remarkably at ease, despite her basically being a captive on my ship and subject to my whims.

"How did you get on?" I enquired.

"Fine, thank you. Your ship is no different to any other." She responded, her voice clipped.

"Brandy?" I got up and approached my decanter.

"I usually prefer something stronger."

Despite this remark, I poured one out for her anyway and set it in front of her. She swallowed it back in one go.

"What may I call you by the way?" She asked.

"Commodore." I answered shortly, slugging back my own drink. "What about you?"

"Your Majesty." She replied sarcastically, gesturing at me to pour her more brandy, which I obliged.

"Seriously."

"Alright." She sighed. "You can call me Rose. Or Rosie, I don't mind. It was Rosalie, once upon a time, but people don't call me that anymore."

"A very quaint name, for a pirate. Do your men call you that, Captain Rose?"

"Do dispense with the formalities, Commodore. I pride myself in making being an equal among my crew, something that's sorely overlooked in your naval ships. With all your stupid titles and uniforms."

She seemed disapproving, but I could hardly blame her. Especially from the kind of ship she seemed to come from. Their dynamic seemed a lot more informal and, I daresay, enjoyable.

"Very well, Rose." I accepted, although her name in its barest form seemed very strange on my tongue. "I can't help but notice your British accent. Is that where you're from?"

As I said this, the remarkably at ease captain looked slightly uncomfortable. She looked to the floor, playing with the brandy glass in her hand before looking up at me evenly.

"Yes, a long time ago. It's amazing how long an accent can stick." She tried to make light of it, but it was clearly a touchy subject.

"Where did you live?"

I knew I should drop the subject, and if I were among polite company at a dinner table I would have. But we were in the middle of the ocean, and I was too curious to not continue.

"I grew up in Portsmouth. By the docks, it makes sense." She shrugged.

"You'll have to tell me your story at some point."

"Yes." She said, her eyes grateful. "A tale for a stormy evening, perhaps. It wouldn't be entertaining, though."

"I doubt that." I leaned forward, and she pursed her lips, standing upright quickly.

"I must change my clothes, I can't stand this dress." She moved her arms, gesturing to the ripped seams of her sleeves. "Do women in England not need to move?"

"Not particularly." I shrugged. I had never even thought of it. The women back in England floated with such ease that I didn't even think as to whether the garment was restricting or not. Come to think of it, I didn't think I had ever seen an English woman raise her arms above her head.

She scoffed, shaking her head. Smoothing her skirts, she looked back to the closed door and her lips pulled to one side.

"Is that all you wanted to discuss with me?" She asked curtly.

"Yes. Keep it up and our bargain may remain intact, Captain Rose."

She nodded at me before turning on her heel and leaving my quarters.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day the pirates turned up at roll call again and I coordinated with them through their captain. They were gradually becoming part of the furniture on board the ship, and I no longer started when I encountered a random pirate. They were even starting to talk amongst my officers, which my lieutenant blatantly disapproved of, but I thought it beneficial. We were going to spend weeks together at sea, so I couldn't see any issue with collaborating or even becoming friends, if possible.

This gradual acceptance was accentuated in the mess hall when, instead of the comical split down the middle from the last night, my officers had started to integrate with the pirates. Some were clearly still uncomfortable with the concept, but others sat among them, talking just as loudly as the pirates themselves with new-found permission. As we were finishing up, Rose approached me and perched on the end of the table, in front of Rodgers. I wondered whether she did it on purpose, obscuring my lieutenant from my view but also not having to look at his face herself.

She began discussing ropes on the ship with me, speaking with such knowledge and ease that I actually enjoyed the conversation, despite not knowing much about the topic myself. As her crew began to retire, she patted my shoulder and went off to her own quarters. Rodgers was glaring at me as I stood.

"Do cheer up, lieutenant." I sighed as I walked away.

He was staring to get on my nerves, and the pirates becoming a welcome addition to our party in my mind. 

* * *

 It was mid-afternoon on the third day when someone knocked at the captain's quarters. Rose entered the room confidently, stopping just short of my desk. I could sense my lieutenant's impatience as he turned to look at her.

"Commodore." She bowed incrementally at me. "I would like to make a formal request."

After our amiable talk at dinner, I was more than welcome to lend her my ear.

"Ask away."

"I would like a sword."

Rodgers scoffed before quickly hiding it in his hand.

"For self-defence purposes, obviously." She continued, perturbed by my lieutenant's quickness to dismiss her. "I've noticed a certain... look in your officer's eyes as of late. I've seen it before, and I'll see it again on a ship that has been at sea for several weeks. Men stop thinking rationally, and I believe the presence of a weapon is the only way to keep their heads level."

"We cannot simply give you a sword." Rodgers said disapprovingly.

"You may confiscate it if I misuse it." She retorted quickly.

"No, it would be reckless." Rodgers shut her down. "With a single sword, a pirate like you could overpower an officer and get into our weaponry store, furnishing your crew with their own weapons and facilitating a mutiny. I advise strongly against it."

This was one of the few scenarios in which I listened to my lieutenant and allowed myself to be swayed by his input.

"I'm afraid I agree with my lieutenant."

"You won't even think on it?" She pleaded at me with her eyes.

"I'm firm in my decision." I decided, and she looked briefly frustrated before sweeping out of my quarters.

Rodgers shook his head at me and sat down to work again. I tried to get my head back into it, but I found myself distracted by the woman's request. I was disturbed at how desperate she was willing to look, even in front of my lieutenant. But what she had said was ridiculous, these were all British officers, specially trained and skilled in suppressing their baser urges. They didn't have a 'look' and they most certainly wouldn't assault a pirate captain. It was all ridiculous.

* * *

 A couple of days later, I stood at roll call and observed my crew. Rose nodded at me curtly, allowing me to begin my address and I was about to speak when my words got caught in my throat; one of my men had a black eye. My eyebrows furrowed, and my officer looked to the floor. For some reason, my mind immediately went to Rose, but when I looked to her she didn't betray any emotion. She merely kept her jaw set and eyes fixed on mine.

I addressed my crew in the usual manner, but once I'd finished I stepped down among them and pulled Rose aside.

"Why do I have a feeling you're behind Browning's black eye?" I asked her in a low voice as the men around us set to work.

"You're very presumptuous, Commodore." She said, a hint of guilt behind those eyes.

"What happened?"

"I was correct in my assumption." She snapped. "Browning tried something on, he got what he deserved."

"You're assaulting my officers?"

"I'm punching men who can't control themselves."

I couldn't see Browning doing something like that, and I wondered how much of the story was true. Perhaps she was just taking the flak for another man's brawl because she knew I would let her get away with it.

"Are you going to consider that sword now?" She prompted me.

"So I'd have a dead officer as opposed to a punched one?" I asked sarcastically.

"I wouldn't kill any of your men." She assured me.

"No."

"Fine." She growled. "Then if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

I watched her storm off, and briefly considered my stance again. My lieutenant was right, and she was no defenceless woman, I told myself. There was no use dwelling on it.

* * *

 A week later, and everyone was still cooperating nicely. The men were making friends, the ship was running smoothly and some of the pirates had even started to bow their heads when we said grace at the dinner table.

I was making my usual rounds below decks and turned a corner when I came across a scene that horrified me and I instantly felt a blinding flare of anger. I couldn't see her face, but I knew that it was Rose pinned to the floor from her familiar worn dress and feminine hands clenched into fists above her head. Two of my officers were overpowering her, one holding her wrists down while the other had his hand clamped over her mouth, his free hand running aggressively over her bodice.

"Gentlemen." I snapped.

Upon hearing my voice, the two men bolted upright and looked sheepishly to the floor. I struggled not to eye them with utter disgust. I thought that I could trust every member of my crew, but apparently I couldn't. One of the men was Browning, his black eye still healing, while the other was someone he had roped in to assist his assault on the woman. I swallowed back bile, my nails digging into my palms as I faced the two traitors.

Rose got up off the floor the moment she was able, and before I realised what she was doing she took them by the shoulders in turn and promptly kneed them in the groin. While they doubled over in pain, she angrily marched in the other direction.

"Stay here." I ordered them, but I doubted they would take notice. I knew both of their faces anyway, they would get their due punishment.

Once I had made my command, I turned to follow Rose. I only knew the vague direction she was headed, so followed my intuition in going to her chambers. I knocked tentatively. No response. I tried the handle and found it gave way easily, so I came into the room, only to see her sitting at the small wooden table in the corner, hunched over her chair. Her anger had turned to sobbing in the privacy of her quarters, but she was so engrossed in her own tears that she hadn't even noticed me entering the room. She cried and cried, her shoulders heaving and choking breaths racking through her as I stood uncomfortably in the doorway. Then she stood abruptly, wiping tears from her eyes with the heel of her hand and taking deep breaths in an effort to steady her breathing.

"What do you want, Commodore?" She asked me in a shaking voice.

I felt as though I'd been caught in a compromising situation even though I'd made my entrance perfectly clear and I had the best intentions.

"I came to- well, I mean to say-"

"Don't, Commodore." She snapped, turning to look at me. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were stained with glittering tears.

"I'm sorry-"

"No. Don't you dare." She growled, pointing a finger accusingly at me. "Don't you dare patronise me with your pity."

"I'm not patronising." I spoke slowly, raising my arms in surrender.

She angrily wiped at her tears again, pulling at her dress so it sat normally on her body after being pulled at and thrown around on the floor. I opened my mouth again and she looked ready to cut me with her tongue, so I kept my hands raised.

"Please, hear me out. I want to apologize." I said softly. "I know you probably don't want to hear it, but I want to say it. This is a very confusing situation for me, I can't imagine what it's like for you. I didn't listen to you and I thought _you_ were the one being stupid. I was too naïve to see the truth, and you knew that. I'm sorry."

Her eyes softened, and I felt that this was the first time I was truly looking into her soul, without all of the barriers and barricades she set up. She stepped closer to me, her lips pursed and eyes still brimming with tears.

"It's not confusing at all for me, Commodore." She spoke tightly. "All English men are the same. You're all _pigs_."

She swept past me, leaving me stunned and even more confused than I was before. I didn't even have time to suggest she should stay in her chambers for a couple of hours with the door bolted, even though I knew she would never accept the suggestion. Something was gnawing at my stomach, making me feel ill and conflicted. I didn't want to go as far as to say upset, but I wasn't quite sure how else to put it as some long-forgotten empathy pulled at my heart. I had to quickly busy myself to turn that emotion into productivity.

Returning to the spot where she'd been assaulted, I found the two men had already fled, as I'd expected. I knew them as men, however, and could renounce them publicly as some sort of compensation for what Rose went through. But first, she required a sword, so I went to the armoury and picked one out for her. It wasn't a particularly large thing, but I was certain she would be able to handle it well and she could even conceal it on her person if the situation called for it. I returned to her quarters and set it on her bed, ready for her return before going up to the deck and engaging one of the largest, most brutish pirates on board.

"Say, find Browning and Smith, will you?" I spoke loudly up to him, making sure that everyone could hear me. "I want you to take them down to the brig. I will not have _rapists_ roaming free on my ship."

* * *

 As everyone was settling down for the night, I set myself up on the deck of the ship. I was on night watch with a few other men to hold the ship on course, keep a lookout for any other vessels and the like. The job was remarkably calming, if a little slow. The quiet in the middle of the ocean was unlike any quiet in any part of the world, it made one feel as though they were alone in the world even when standing next to another human being.

I took a short stint at the wheel when a flash of white caught my eye. It was amazing, in foreign waters the moon was bright enough to navigate the ship at night but seeing something that bright was quite startling in the semi-darkness. I hailed an sailor to take my place, who sluggishly got up and took the wheel, still half-asleep. I followed the flash of white and saw an ethereal figure standing against the railing. The other men didn't seem to have noticed anything, and I briefly wondered whether my mind had concocted this apparition. It was well known that there were often ghosts on pirate ships, spirits disapproving of their nautical misdeeds, so it only made sense that a ghost followed their pirate crew on board our ship. As I got closer, however, I noticed the familiar dark hair and the white was merely a chemise that she must wear to sleep in. The white fabric floated round her ankles in the warm Caribbean breeze, which explained her ghost-like appearance.

I cautiously approached Rose, unsure as to where I stood in her mind. _You're all pigs_ , she'd told me. Did she truly think it of me too? Then surely it was my task to prove her wrong. Or was I simply making the situation worse in engaging with her?

"I can't do this on my own ship." She spoke over her shoulder, and I jumped. I wasn't aware she knew I was there.

She turned to me, those eyes sparkling in the darkness. I shook my head abruptly.

"Pardon?"

She gestured to her arms leaning on the balustrade.

"My arms would be covered in splinters if I tried this on my own ship. You keep your men in good check."

I bit my tongue at making another British Navy reference. They weren't the highest of men in her eyes, and they weren't in mine any more either. So, I settled for something more tactful.

"Your men have helped out immensely."

She snickered, shaking her head as she looked out to sea.

"I'm afraid they do only as much as they please, but it looks quite meagre next to your men. We don't quite have polished railings-" She said, tapping the balustrade. "-but we're surviving."

"I can see that."

Silence. But as she was being so amiable, I carefully walked to her side, leaning my own arms on the balustrade and looking out to sea as well. The stars somehow seemed brighter out at sea too, sparkling and reflecting off the calm waters.

"Thank you, by the way." She said and when I looked to her she was staring ahead, her jaw tight.

"For what?"

"For putting those men in the brig." She wrung her hands together anxiously. "Most men would still let them run amok. Hell, most men would clap them on the back."

"For assaulting a woman?" I asked in disbelief.

"You're a rare breed, Commodore." She chuckled at me, smiling at my supposed innocence, but that smile faded quickly.

"I know you don't want me to apologize to you again, so I won't." I said softly.

"Good."

"You do trust me, don't you Rose?" I asked her earnestly.

"Of course I do, or I wouldn't be letting you stand this close." She answered jokingly, then looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "I trusted you the moment I met you. I knew you were a good egg."

We lapsed into silence again, both staring out at the calm ocean. I glanced back at the night watchers; one man standing idly at the wheel, another drinking from a glass bottle while two others were slumped over one another, very obviously asleep. She shuffled closer to me and I gave her a sideways glance, but she was still staring out to sea.

I hesitantly lifted one of my arms from the balustrade and went to put my arm around her waist. My hand hovered over her body as I second-guessed myself. Was this just taking advantage of an already weak individual? But as I hesitated, she took my hand and led it around her waist, sidling even closer to me in the process.

She rested her head back on my shoulder, her head endearingly only just reaching it. There was something comforting about the gentle pressure on my chest and I suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to protect her, though I knew I could never act on it. My way of protecting was simply to lock up the thing in question for the rest of eternity, and she would never accept that. For now, I had to be content with simply having my arm around her.

I don't know how long we stood there, but the moon had moved significantly across the sky when she disentangled herself from me, the smallest smile pulling at her lips. Then she raised herself up onto her toes and planted a small kiss on my cheek. My thoughts were a muddle and I struggled to think clearly as she backed away.

"Goodnight, Commodore."

I opened my mouth to respond but nothing came out. She merely grinned at me before turning around and heading back to her own chambers. I smiled to myself before shaking my head. I couldn't be falling in love with a pirate.

* * *

The next day I rested in the morning to catch up on sleep after night watch and rose again after midday. I oversaw all of the ships progress, looking over all of the men when I noticed at least three pirates surrounding their captain. When I approached her, they all turned towards me menacingly, closing in closer around the woman.

"It's alright, men." I heard her say. "I trust him."

A couple gave me a few sideways glances before parting, so she could speak to me. She stepped forward, lending me her ear.

"May I speak with you?" I asked.

"Of course." She nodded before following me to the captain's quarters.

I poured our usual brandy, gesturing at her to sit when she didn't do so immediately.

"Do your men always do that?" I asked her as she took a seat.

"I'm sorry, Commodore. They get... protective." She shrugged. 

"I understand that impulse." I mumbled to myself.

Her eyes shot up to mine as she tried to decipher the movement of my lips. 

"We've almost arrived at our destination." I changed the subject quickly, just in case she heard. 

"I'm well aware."

"What will you do?" I asked curiously.

"What we've always done. We'll find a ship and we'll go out to sea again."

She seemed to tire of the conversation, standing up absently and starting to wander around my quarters.

"And how will you manage that?"

I didn't mean to sound condescending, but it came out like that. Old habits die hard.

"We'll do what we do best." She looked back at me, grinning. "Steal a ship or steal enough to buy one of our own."

Her hands skimmed over the books on my shelf, finally landing on the one that I had pulled out and started perusing that afternoon.

"I suppose you're kind of like a mother to those men." I commented jovially.

In a heartbeat she grabbed the book at her fingertips and flung it towards me. I was thankful for my fast reflexes as I grabbed the book mere inches from my face. My heart was racing, but I didn't let it show as I slowly lowered the book from my face and smoothed out the pages that I had crumpled when I caught it.

"I didn't mean to insult you." I said.

"Of course you didn't." Her voice was harsh, but she knew I meant well as her body language softened.

Her head twitched, and she continued making her way around my quarters. I watched her uneasily, my drink in hand. I didn't want to go so far as to say she was unstable but... well, it couldn't be easy being a pirate. She picked up one of my naval trophies, holding it to the light so she could read the inscription.

"Awarded to James Norrington for excellence in..." She trailed off, giving me a pointed look. "James Norrington?"

"That's my name." I responded, shifting in my chair.

"It's very British."

"That is where I hail from." I said defensively.

"Yes, but you needn't be so _obvious_ about it." She smirked at me, setting down the trophy.

She continued picking at my things, something I'd stop her from doing if we were on dry land. And if I didn't think that telling her off would drive her away when I valued her company so highly. She went into a small drawer underneath yet more of my books and brought out something that I'd quite frankly forgotten was there.

"A lovers eye?" She asked, looking towards me, confused.

She picked it up, dangling the golden chain from her fingers with the small pendant hanging from it portraying a brown eye. I had been expensive, and it was quite possibly the most sentimental thing I owned.

"You have someone back home?" She asked softly. Perhaps I just wanted to hear the disappointment in her voice. 

"Not anymore." I spoke tightly. "She married another man." 

"She spurned you?"

"Yes." I shifted uncomfortably in my chair again. "We were engaged, for a time. But she was never truly mine."

"She didn't love you."

"No." I shook my head. "At least, not in the same way that I loved her."

"I'm sorry." She said, very carefully winding up the chain again and putting it gently back into the drawer it came from. I didn't know what I expected, but there was surprising tenderness in her actions.

"She ran away with a pirate, as a matter of fact." I commented, trying to make light of it.

The heartbreak had healed over the years, and it didn't bother me now. Not to the extent that she was suggesting, anyway.

"We can be very attractive." She looked back at me and smiled. 

I refused to comment, merely pursing my lips and ignoring my own feelings towards a particular pirate. 

 "I _was_ taken away, you know." She spoke abruptly.

"Pardon?"

"From my home. I was taken."

I could barely remember it, but she was referencing the first time I talked to her when she washed up on my ship. When she was pleading innocent. She looked to the floor, her fist clenching and unclenching by her side. Then she stalked towards the chair, sitting at it way less comfortably than she did before. I couldn't tell whether the British company was rubbing off on her, or whether recent events had made her more on edge.

"I was thirteen. Some men came into my room in the middle of the night and took me from my bed. They didn't touch my sisters and my parents didn't hear me."

That meant that they probably sold her. Landed on hard times, and the only thing they could do was sell their daughter to, well... pirates. We both knew this, but she refused to acknowledge it, some vague hope playing in her eyes as if somehow it was just coincidence. She tapped her glass and I obligingly poured her more alcohol. I knew how difficult this was for her.

"They dragged me onto a ship and told me that I was a whore. I was tied up with a dozen other girls in the bowels of a ship and we travelled for days and days and days. I escaped from my bonds during the changeover."

I felt that intense protective urge again as she swallowed, pausing to look well and truly traumatized.

"I don't know what happened to those other girls." She muttered, barely audibly. So she wasn't traumatized; she was guilty.

"You think you should have saved them?"

Her head snapped upwards as if she suddenly remembered that I was there. She moved uncomfortably in her chair, nodding.

"Yes, of course."

"But then you wouldn't have been able to escape."

"You don't know that." She mumbled, speaking to the floor.

"And you don't know whether you could have saved them."

We spent a few moments in contemplative silence, her picking at her skirts anxiously while I squashed the urge to pick her up into my arms and never let go.

"I found myself on a Caribbean island, rife with crime and prostitution." She forced herself to continue. "I banded together with a couple of other people, we formed a crew, stole a ship. The rest is history."

She tapped at her glass again and I filled it. She swallowed it back with a sour expression, her eyes fixed firmly on my desk.

"I have a feeling you spared me a lot of details." I ventured.

"I didn't want to give you nightmares." She smiled sadly at the desk.

"If you can survive with the details, I'm sure I would be able."

In my attempt not to seem pushy, I came out arrogant and unfeeling. I bit my lip, awaiting her response with some apprehension.

"I don't choose to live with the knowledge, Commodore." She said, her voice hard.

"I'm sorry." I said, and her eyes snapped up to mine. "For everything."

"It's in the past." She brushed me off, before sighing heavily. "I became everything I should hate. I should be one of your British ladies, lounging in tight dresses without the need to move, or run or shout."

"For the record, Rose, I much prefer you as you are." I said earnestly.

She smiled unhappily at the desk.

"I've never told anyone that before." She spoke softly, her eyes shifting hesitantly to mine. "Not even my crew."

At this, I felt immensely humble, but also even more curious than before, if that was possible. She had told me this much, why couldn't she tell me more? I wanted her to tell me everything, every detail of her life before becoming a pirate so she could unleash her burden onto me. The burden that she'd carried by herself for so long.

"No-one?" I asked.

"No. I hate people eyeing me with pity. Just because I'm a woman, people pity me too easily."

"Why tell me then?"

"You pity me Commodore, I can see it in your eyes. But you don't condescend. I can trust you with that."

She kept firm eye contact with me and I nodded. 

"I should get back to my men." She stood abruptly, suddenly looking very embarrassed, for what reason I couldn't comprehend.

"Yes." I stood with her, placing my hands on my desk.

She backed away and out of the room. I sat back down heavily; why had she entrusted me with this knowledge? Why _now_?


	3. Chapter 3

I spent that evening with Rodgers, both of us working in my quarters when a noise echoed down the corridor. It sounded like a lot of men talking excitedly. We both looked up, but as Rodgers made no move to get up, I too stifled my curiosity. We worked until the allotted dinner time, at which point we both stood and made our way down to the mess hall. Upon entering the room, all eyes turned to us.

"Ah, Commodore, we've been waiting for you." A female voice rang out. 

Rose stood from among the jostling group of men that were seated around her, and I started back. She was wearing a British dress, the kind that pulled her waist to a miniscule proportion and pushed her assets upwards. It was deep red, a far more appropriate colour for a character like her. The silk flowed smoothly around her form, tight sleeves cut off by an abundance of ruffles flowing around her elbows. The candlelight made shadows dance across her collar-bones and I found myself completely and utterly transfixed.

She rushed forward upon seeing me freeze and took my hands in her own, pulling me towards my seat at the head of the table. Rodgers was left to his own devices as he sat reluctantly beside me. Rose leaned over and I struggled to keep my eyes on her face.

"What's the occasion?" I asked, my voice coming out embarrassingly strained.

"You may think that just because we go with the wind that I can't read a map, but that's simply not true." She said against my ear. "And by my calculations, we're only a couple of days away from port. Tonight may well be our last night together. A celebration is in order."

My eyes strayed to the barrels of brandy stacked up in the corner.

"You plan to celebrate with a lot of alcohol?"

"Naturally." She grinned, standing upright.

"Who let you into the store?"

"Ah, now that would be telling. He's a fine, upstanding gentleman, he doesn't normally allow himself to be seduced in such a manner." She winked at one of my crew and he grinned guiltily back at her.

"And wherever did you find that dress?" I asked her nonchalantly.

"Jonathan, the absolute dear, leant this one to me. He gave me the last one, do you remember? The white one, which I quite frankly ruined for him. What with the ripped sleeves..." She trailed off, looking slightly embarrassed. "I've promised to look after this one, so he can still give it to his wife when he gets home."

"Is it not a cage?" I jested.

"It's positively a prison." She responded, putting her hand to her chest and breathing deeply just to emphasize her point. "But it was worth it just to see your face as you walked into the room."

As my mouth opened and closed  uselessly, struggling for a sharp remark,  she gave me a wry smile and moved to the barrels.

"Serve up boys." She commanded.

Spearheading the operation, she watched as they tapped the barrels and took tankard after tankard in her hands so they could be filled. She handed them out among the crew indiscriminately, every man smiling at her gratefully and thanking her as she handed them a mug. I was one of the final men to be served, a tankard forced into my hands before she raised her own. The fabric of her dress pulled as she made a move to lift it above her head and she quickly lowered her arm back down to roughly her elbow height.

"To the Commodore." She said, loud enough that the men's voices lowered and they all lifted their own tankards. "For good leadership and sound judgement."

Every man, pirate and otherwise cheered. She smiled broadly and swallowed back her own drink, while I followed suit.

Rodgers only partook in two drinks before retiring quickly. His absence seemed relieve the group of their tensions, people's voices rising and alcohol flowing more freely. And so eventually, despite ourselves and our training, we were all raucously drunk.

Drunken song began to ring out, my crew staring blankly at the shanties that the pirates sang and the pirates enthusiastically thumping their hands and feet along to the British songs that they'd never heard of.

_I'll go no more a rovin, with you fair maid._

_A roving, A roving, since roving's been my ruin,_

_I'll go no more a roving, with you fair maid._

Rose standing with her tankard raised, singing along as loudly as the rest of them.

_Her eyes are like two stars so bright_

_Mark you well what I say_

_Her eyes are like two stars so bright,_

_Her face is fair, her step is light._

Rose being pulled up onto the table by another man and allowing herself to be dragged into a dance.

_Then I took this fair maid's lily white hand,_

_Mark well what I do say_

_I took this fair maid's lily white hand_

_In mine as we walked along the strand._

Rose's head tipped back in laughter, her eyes bright with alcohol and movements dictated by one of her pirates who danced with her.

_Then I put my arm around her waist_

_Mark well what I do say!_

_For I put my arm around her waist_

_And from her lips snatched a kiss in haste!_

I'd had suspicions before, but now the weight of it landed heavily in my lap. I loved her.

I stared dumbly up at the woman who had captured my heart. With Elizabeth it had been a gradual fondness, a love that grew along with her. But with Rose the feeling was sudden and painful. I felt like I could suffocate from it.

Time dragged on until men started to retire, some sloping lopsidedly back to their quarters while others merely passed out in their seats. The noise of the night had quietened significantly, and in this relative silence Rose sidled closer to me using the now-unoccupied chairs.

"Is it proper to get your men so drunk?" She asked, her voice wavering slightly.

"Of course not." I responded. "But it's alright, every once in a while."

The candles burned low and flickered, casting shadows over her face.

"Thank you for doing this." I blurted out.

"You won't be thanking me tomorrow morning." She smirked, making a move to stand.

I mirrored her, standing too and extending my arm. She took it gratefully, using my arm to steady her uneven footing. Her touch sent sparks over my skin.

"May I escort you to your cabin?" I asked her softly.

"Oh yes please, Commodore." She slurred, hanging off of my arm. "After all, you never know the kind of men you might come across at this time of night."

We made our way in the direction of her quarters on unsteady feet. I paused outside of her door and she paused too. The hallway was lit from either side, two small lanterns flickering so we were both in partial shadow. Her hand fell from my arm and I stared at it, disappointed. She swayed and while I made efforts to make sure she didn't fall, she used my lack of caution for myself to pin me against the wall. Her hands slammed on either side of my head and my breath briefly escaped my body. She was ever so slightly shorter than me, but that didn't stop her from being earth-shatteringly terrifying.

"Rose?" I asked her in a shaking voice.

"Damn you, Commodore." She growled, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Pardon?"

"Damn you for making me do this."

Her eyes suddenly met mine, and they were filled with fire. She lurched forward and pressed her lips firmly against mine. I would've started back if I wasn't pressed against a wall, but she had prepared for that by pinning me against a wall.

My heart hammered in my ears, then it suddenly dulled as her lips softened and our tongues met. My hands strayed to her restrained torso, wrapping around her waist and my fingertips touched at her back. Her own hands shifted from the wall to either side of my jaw, angling my head closer to hers. I itched to touch her skin, not the silky fabric of her bodice or skirt but when my hand pulled at the fabric of her shoulder she placed her hand over my own.

"I promised I wouldn't ruin this one." She mumbled against my lips.

I kissed her again chastely, reaching up to wrap my hands around her neck and tip it upwards so I could kiss her along her jaw.

"Stop." She whispered. "You'll make me faint."

I paused to see how heavily she was breathing, her bosom heaving and hands clenching into fists.

"Let's get you out of the cage then." I muttered against her jaw.

"Don't." She pushed at my chest, and I reluctantly pulled away.

"Are you waiting for marriage?" I asked her softly.

She burst out laughing, her shoulders juddering against my hands as she giggled.

"If you think I'm still innocent, Commodore, you must have less sense than I put you down for."

I smiled with her, but that smile faded quickly.

"Why not tonight then?" I asked her, leaning in closer.

"You're too drunk." She pushed me back. "You'd regret it in the morning."

"How could I possibly regret it?"

"I'm a pirate." She responded hesitantly. "And you're supposed to be the scourge of all pirates."

"Who told you that?"

"Your crew. They're keen to remind me at every opportunity. They tell me you've been chasing one man, one pirate, across the seven seas."

"Yes, but he has done me an egregious personal offence." I assured her. "You've done me no such thing, as of late."

"Still..." She trailed off, pulling away from me.

I pulled her back, moving her in such a way that our roles were reversed, it being my turn to press her against the wall.

"There'd be nothing I regret more than not taking you tonight, while I have the chance. If we truly are as close to port as you think we are." I said earnestly, pressing myself against her body.

"I can't." She stumbled, slipping out from underneath me, placing her hand on the door to her quarters.

"At least let me-"

"At least let you _what_ , my innocent Commodore?" She paused to mock me.

"At least let me undress you."

Perhaps the alcohol had loosened my tongue too much, but that slipped out before I had time to check my words. Her mouth fell open and I doubled back quickly.

"I- I mean, what I meant to say... for bed. To help to- to get you out of the- the cage. What you presume to be a cage."

She let out a burst of breathy laughter, pulling open the door to her quarters.

"Come inside." She said, barely audibly.

My heart leapt into my throat, and I hesitantly followed after her. I vaguely recognized the room, but it was still an unfamiliar part of the ship to me. She stood at the end of her bed with her back to me, her hands resting idly on her hips.

"Well?" She asked me over her shoulder.

I approached her cautiously, my footsteps light on the cabin floor. I lifted my hand to her bodice and when it came into contact with her she jumped.

"Sorry." I murmured.

She shook her head minutely and I started to pull at the laces of her bodice. Despite trying to be as gentle as possible, there still had to be some force involved in removing the damn thing. She braced herself against the back of the bed and her body jostled as I pulled. Finally, the lacing came loose and I could pull the bodice from her person. Her breath escaped her as the garment came loose and while I set her bodice to the side she took the time to breathe heavily, and I imagine loosen her ribcage after wearing such a constricting garment.

I moved to the ties of her skirts, undoing the back before reaching around her and pulling at the front ties until it pooled around her ankles. I put my hand on her waist to steady her as she stepped out of her skirts. She was left in her chemise, the one I'd seen her in on that night among the stars, white and pure and loose-fitting. Leading her to the edge of the bed, I placed my hand on her shoulder and sat her down on the edge of it. Her lips were parted and eyes eagerly trained on me as I knelt slowly, dropping to my knees in front of her. I slipped both of her shoes off, keeping my gaze fixed on her feet because looking into her eyes made me nervous, despite her obviously not having such reservations.

I lifted the chemise, careful to not raise it above her knees and indecently expose her against her will. I pulled the tie at her calf that held her stockings up and started to tentatively roll it down her leg, exposing her calf, then ankle, then foot. I did the same to the other stocking, removing it slowly before placing them both to the side and finally looking up into her eyes. They were wide and shining in the semi-darkness, a small smile playing with the corners of her lips and my stomach twisted.

She stood abruptly and pulled me up with her by my collar. I expected her to turn me around and push me out of the room, which is why I was so shocked when she started to push my frock coat from my shoulders.

"This- this wasn't part of the agreement." I protested weakly, not every trying to stop the hands tearing at my clothing.

"It was part of _my_ agreement." She said next to my ear and I shuddered.

My coat fell with a thump on the floor and she started pulling at the buttons of my waistcoat. Growing impatient on the last few buttons, she simply wrenched the garment open, a singular button popping off and rolling across the floor. While I watched it teeter she had already moved to my cravat, impatiently unwrapping it from my neck. Then she was finally at my shirt, pulling it up and over my head.

Stepping back with my shirt in her hand, we stood opposite one another for a brief moment, breathing heavily. Her eyes wandered from my face and a smile graced her features as she dropped the shirt to the floor too. I was left topless and my jaw shifted as she simply stared. This was going to be torturous if it was all a tease.

She captured my lips on her own, her nails trailing down my bare chest which made goose-bumps rise on my skin. My own hands ran down her body, coming to rest at the top of her seat, pressing her torso closer to my own. Our tongues intertwined and she pushed me backwards, my calves hitting the bed. I stopped kissing her to look at her questioningly, but she merely looked back at me as she put her hands on my shoulders and forced me to sit. I sat heavily, watching in awe as she crawled onto my lap and kissed me again.

"Are you sure you want this?" I mumbled against her lips.

She hesitated before nodding. At this affirmation I grabbed her waist and flipped her back onto the bed. It was my turn to clamber on top of her, grinding my body against hers as I kissed her voraciously.

"James..." She whined, her back rising off of the bed and hands clenching into fists at her side, her voice filled with need.

There was something oddly erotic about her using my Christian name. I didn't have time to react as she started to pull at the fastenings on my breeches.

* * *

We both lay in the afterglow, my palms caressing her flushed skin. She was curled into me, eyes closed and naked skin against my own. I stirred, and she mumbled something, only making a coherent word when I sat upright and made a move to stand.

"What are you doing?" She asked, still not opening her eyes.

"Shhh. Don't mind me." I whispered, placing my hand gently on her back.

I maneuvered myself around her to find my clothes and slowly but steadily re-dressed myself. By this time, she had turned to look at me and groaned.

"Where are you going?" She asked, clearly irritated.

"Back to my quarters." I said as I slumped my waistcoat on, not bothering with the buttons as I hefted my frock coat over my shoulder. "I don't want to sully your name."

"Sully my name? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Compromise your innocence, then." I said, but she still looked confused. "If I leave, then the sailors won't know that I spent the night with you."

"My men already know I'm not innocent." She turned to look at the ceiling.

"But my men don't. I shan't have your name dragged through the mud on my behalf." I came to kneel beside the bed.

"You're only doing this so you don't get caught." She muttered, keeping her eyes resolutely fixed on the ceiling.

"I was thinking only of you, I assure you." I affirmed, taking her chin in my hand and gently leading her face towards mine.

I leaned forward and kissed her lightly, an action which she permitted. Then I stood and made my way towards the door, pausing as she spoke.

"You could stay."

I turned back to see her looking up at me, her eyes filled with hope, alone in that large bed. It did look empty beside her.

"No. I can't." I said, continuing on through the door, my heart tearing itself apart as I did so.

* * *

I awoke the next morning to a loud cry of _'land ho!_ coming from above me. I groaned and opened my eyes; it was daylight outside. We really were as close to port as she thought we were. As I tried to sit upright I was halted by a dizzying reminder of the amount I had to drink last night, a splitting headache wracking its way through my body. She was also right in that I wasn't exactly appreciating how much I had to drink last night.

I heard a lot of men outside my cabin and above me, so I resorted to power through the pain and get dressed. I did so successfully, though a little wobbly while doing it, and exited my cabin looking a little worse for wear. As I looked around I found that I wasn't the only one, however, as nearly every seaman had had as much (if not more) as I had to drink last night and was not expecting such an early wake-up call. Lopsided shirts and half-fastened breeches were the order of the day. The only person this plague didn't seem to touch was my lieutenant, who was searching for the land we were approaching through a spyglass. As I stood by his side he handed the spyglass to me, which I looked through eagerly.

"Looks to be a decent port." I commented.

"Yes. We can finally drop off those pirate scum and get ourselves some decent, naval men." Rodgers responded.

I tried to keep my cool façade as my insides twisted and I abruptly remembered what I had done to a certain pirate last night. My jaw clenched, and I willed myself not to blush as I handed the spyglass back.

"One of your buttons is missing." Rodgers informed me.

"Oh?"

"Yes. On your waistcoat."

It seemed almost like he was judging me, but he couldn't know how I lost that button.

"It must have fallen off. I'll find another." I said quickly, excusing myself.

I made my way back below decks and happened across Rose who was coming at me from the opposite direction. We both stepped closer to one another, only to have a sailor barge between us. The time for intimacy was not now, not if we wanted to keep the illusion alive.

"Commodore." She dipped her head.

"You were right about reaching port." I remarked absently.

"Of course." She said, not a degree of self-doubt in her tone.

"You'll be leaving us then." I talked, more to distract myself than make decent conversation.

"Yes. And you won't be prosecuting us?" She asked nervously.

I merely smiled at the floor, resisting the urge to hug her.

"Well, seeing as you and your men worked so hard..." I trailed off, looking up to see she still awaited my answer anxiously. "No. Of course I won't be."

"Thank you." She said earnestly, placing her hand on my arm.

Another sailor barged past us, bumping her hand off of my person and she shook her head, smiling.

"I shan't see you again." She said decisively. "And we won't have time on the pier. Goodbye, Commodore."

"Goodbye Rose." I said softly, taking her shoulder and pulling her into my arms.

She rested her head against my chest, breathing softly as my arms enfolded her tightly. She felt so terribly soft and fragile in my arms. I knew she was neither of these things, but it still made my heart break that I had to leave her to the mercy of the world. Sounds of footprints came down the hallway and she pulled away, nodding at me briefly before heading in the opposite direction. I watched her walk away, my hands clenching into fists at my side.

We arrived into port, chaos ensuing as men unloaded the boat. In the heaving, swarming mania I watched over the side of the ship as Rose assembled her crew and headed off into the town. Once the chaos had died down, I called my men to stand to attention on the deck of the ship.

"I have relayed our plight to an Englishman who lives here. We will keep residence with him tonight in his mansion a little ways out." I called out to them. "He will provide us with more men and set us on our way in a few days."

The men cheered and prepared to head out. A carriage was waiting for me and the higher-ranking officers, but as I hopped in Rodgers hesitated behind me.

"I have some business in town." He excused himself, not meeting my eyes.

I didn't question him as he turned on his heel and blended into the crowds of people at the busy port. My sailors marched dutifully behind the carriage on foot as we trundled out towards the mansion visible on the hillside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Maid Of Amsterdam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgaKCCI14fM


	4. Chapter 4

The house was quiet and pleasant, sitting in a hill above the Caribbean port that we arrived in on. The Englishman I'd made contact with was very kind and open, feeding us well and allowing us to board. He kept us informed on the goings-on in Britain that was rather hard to keep track of when out in the open ocean. My men relaxed, but there was a distinct absence that I think everyone felt in the spacious house. The host tried, in vain, to banish any blues that were felt. Standing at a window, I watched the sun set over lush greenery, but still I wasn't content.

At dinner the feeling of estrangement was lingering, but none of us could speak of it with outsiders watching. The only man that seemed cheerful was my lieutenant who sat himself next to the Englishman, making pleasant conversation. The host in question abruptly summoned one of the servants, gesturing at him to lean over so he could speak into his ear.

"Fetch me an errand boy, will you? I wish to invite the gentry to a grand ball so that my guests should not tire."

The servant nodded then quickly left the room. Time passed and more meaningless conversation ensued before a small boy ran in through the doors, halting at the Englishman's side. He told the boy what he wanted, and scruffed the boy’s hair as he bowed.

"Are you going down to the port tomorrow morning, sir?" The small boy asked, and for some reason my ears pricked at this conversation.

"I wasn't planning to, no. What am I missing?"

"There's going to be a hanging sir!" The young boy exclaimed excitedly.

At this, a vast majority of my men quietened, and the conversation dulled.

"Oh yes? More prisoners?" Our host humoured him.

"No, sir. Pirates!" The little boy said and the whole room went silent.

No. They couldn't be our pirates. They were on their way to another port to avoid any conflict. I looked to my men, who looked equally as concerned as I did. Well, apart from Rodgers who was staring demurely at the table. For some reason I had the sudden inexplicable urge to strangle him.

"Really? How exciting." The host continued, either not noticing or ignoring our silence. "We’ll be down tomorrow then, for sure."

The little boy grinned before running off, presumably to give his message to the wealthy residents of this seaside town.

"What say you, Commodore?" The host turned, nudging me. "A good old-fashioned hanging to lighten your spirits?"

"I- I see enough blood and gore in my line of work." I stammered hesitantly.

"Well. Then how about you sailors?"

All of my men murmured in agreement with me, nodding and looking to the ceiling.

"How disappointing. But if it's not what you lads want to do..."

I shook my head, keeping my eyes fixed on the table as I chewed my lip. I'd have to check. Not that it was going to be her. It couldn't be.

* * *

The clock chimed twelve down the hall, the sound of it ringing through the silent, dark house. It had only been a couple of hours since our group had disbanded, but there was no hope of sleep for me. I had simply waited in restless anxiety until I couldn't wait any longer.

I silently dressed; our host had kindly given me and the other higher-ranking officers their own rooms, but some of the sailors had had to share. I was very glad I wasn't one of them presently, as I could dress myself without being caught. Stepping outside of the room was different, however. I wasn't well acquainted with the layout of the house yet and large, precarious (very breakable) pieces of art seemed to be scattered in the most inconvenient places in the half-darkness. The moon was bright outside, but it wasn't until my eyes had fully adjusted that I felt confident in where I placed my feet. I had decided against a candle as I wanted to be stealthy and throwing light across the walls and under doors wasn't exactly my intended goal.

I somehow found the top of the staircase from the winding labyrinth of hallways I had walked through. Making my way down the steps into the large entrance hall, I crossed the marbled tiles swiftly. My eyes were focused on the front door when I stumbled into something that felt and sounded distinctly like a person.

"Oof!"

"What in the name of...?" I muttered to myself, feeling out the form in front of me. "Who are you?"

"Fletcher, sir." Came a nervous sounding British voice.

"What the hell are you doing down here?"

"Uhm... water, sir?"

"A likely story." I muttered.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness to see the young sailor, fully dressed, as I was. Then my eyes adjusted more, and I could start to make out another vague human figure hiding badly behind a plant pot.

"Did you come down here alone, sailor?"

"Yes sir."

"Then who's pretending to be a bowl of carnations in the corner?"

At this, the figure stumbled upright and hesitantly made their way towards us.

"And who are you?"

"Johnson, sir."

"What are you doing down here?"

He didn't even have time to answer as another voice came from behind us.

"As everyone's revealing themselves, I may as well do so too."

"Abbott?" I asked in disbelief. "Is my whole crew out of their beds tonight?"

We huddled at the bottom of the stairs, our eyesight gradually getting better but my confusion not. I was just about to continue to interrogate them when I heard sets of footsteps on the stairs. They seemed to belong to roughly four men who hadn't noticed us. About halfway down the stairs they stopped in their tracks, us looking up at them and them looking down at us. Someone coughed awkwardly.

"I thought we were-" One of them started but another slapped him on the back of his head.

They continued down the stairs, coming to join our huddle. Again, just as I was about to ask a question, a light bounced across the walls upstairs leading to the hallway which we all came from. We all froze as someone half-dressed came down the stairs, yawning and carrying a candle. I didn't know what to do. That is, until the young man noticed us and picked up his speed, starting to run down the stairs while simultaneously trying not to blow the candle out.

"Oh lord, am I late?" He asked, now out of breath.

"Late? Late?!" I hissed.

Though I wasn't glad for more company, I was glad for the candlelight which meant that I could now see my men, all half-dressed and looking very tired indeed.

"Will someone _please_ explain what is going on?" I asked with as much authority as I could muster when speaking in an undertone.

Abbot stepped forward.

"Well, I don't know what these chaps are doing but I'm headed to the gaol. I'm going to set our pirates free." He shrugged, looking determined.

"Yes. That's what I'm doing." Fletcher, the first sailor who I ran into, added.

"And we had planned to meet for a reconnaissance of sorts." Added one of the four men who'd come down the stairs sheepishly. "We would've done it quietly, sir. No fuss."

"What are you doing out of bed Commodore?" The man holding the candle asked innocently.

I flustered as every man's eye fixed on me. I weighed up whether or not to tell the truth, and in the end, truth won.

"Alright, you caught me out." I confessed. "I may have found myself... concerned with the pirates’ wellbeing. But you must remember men, we don't know whether it's them or not."

"I know it is." Abbot assured me.

"How can you know?"

"I just know." He shrugged.

"Well. If you 'just know', I suppose that's good enough reason to break out prisoners and sully the British reputation on this island."

At this, Abbot looked ever so slightly remorseful, his lips pursing as he looked to the floor.

"Now, I'm going down there alone-" I held up my hand to silence several mouths which had opened, "-and I will see whether it truly is them or not. If it is, then I'll come back, and we'll attempt a... reconnaissance. And if it isn't, well, you all would've looked rather stupid barging in there."

None of them looked happy, but they couldn't very well argue with their commanding officer.

"Off to bed with you. I'll summon you all if I have concerns."

I nodded curtly, and they nodded back at me glumly. Straightening my jacket, I turned and made my way out of the house, continuing down the road to the portside town. As I walked, I noticed the ominous stillness of the place, the silence only broken by the occasional chirrup of a cricket. I briefly looked up, noting the smooth white surface of the moon and a multitude of stars choking the midnight sky; I couldn't explain it, but there certainly was an air of death tonight. I picked up my pace, wiping sleep dust from my eye as I rushed into the town.

I was about as familiar with the town as I was with the man's house. A labyrinth of streets and dark alleys. I was lucky that it was one of those towns that never slept, the streetlamps still lit and raucous laugher spilling from the various inns and pubs despite it being closer to dawn than not. I didn't even know where the gaol was, but I assumed that it was near the water and found my instinct correct as I happened across it. I made a couple of last minute attempts to make myself presentable before approaching the guards. They started awake from their half-asleep trance, taking in my naval uniform and straightening up.

"Gentlemen."

"Sir." One of them nodded. "What are you doing up so late? Or early?"

They looked to each other and smiled. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, poking my tongue in my cheek.

"That's Commodore to you." I spoke harshly, hoping to abuse my rank to get into the prison. "I heard that you were planning a morning execution of some pirates? Me and my men were accosted on the way into your port, and I believe that they might be the same degenerates who attacked us. If they are, I'd like to share a few choice words with them before they're hung on the morrow."

There were a few moments of terse silence as the guards exchanged more looks.

"Fine." One of them shrugged, turning.

I wasn't sure whether or not I had overplayed my part, but either way they didn't seem to care. I couldn't imagine that the night shift was overly exciting, so this event was probably a pleasant diversion from simply staring at the wall opposite. The man led me to a cell where, indeed, all of my pirates were crammed into a single cell. It rather reminded me of the first time I saw them, except this time they weren't dripping with seawater. Only terribly glum.

A couple of them looked up and upon seeing me nudged all of their neighbours until every last eye behind the bars was on me. I shook my head slowly behind the guards' back, touching my finger to my lips.

"Yes, they're the ones." I condescended. "But are there any more? I distinctly remember a woman being among their party."

"Oh yeah." The guard chortled, looking back at me. "She's a feisty one. Thought it better to separate her from the rest of them."

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Come with me." The guard shook his head, beckoning me to follow him.

He led me down a corridor to the other end of the prison. All of the cells were empty, seemingly, apart from these two. Another guard was lingering on the far end of the prison.

"Commodore." The first guard said to the other, gesturing at me.

I rounded the corner to look into the cell. There was Rose, lying on her back on the small wooden cot propped against the wall. She didn't even incline her head to look at me.

"That's her." I let a certain husky quality enter my voice that made me want to wince. "You know, she embarrassed me in front of my crew. Would you two mind letting me alone with her a while?"

Both of them exchanged a look, their eyes shining in the semi-darkness. One of them smirked and shrugged.

"Sure thing, sir." He stepped forward, taking out his keys and opening the door of the cell. I wasn't expecting them to let me into the actual cell, so I stepped into it with some hesitance. The fact that they'd let me in with such little resistance, pleasure, even, disgusted me. If I were a different man, I could very easily take advantage of a weak individual with very little effort on my part. But in this instance I had to take it as a small blessing, thanking my good fortune as the two men walked away.

"Rose?" I said softly.

She continued to stare resolutely at the ceiling. She only spoke when I eventually took a step forward.

"I'm not speaking to you." She enunciated sharply.

"Why ever not?" I asked, stopping in my tracks.

"You tattled on us. You told them we were pirates." She retorted.

At this I approached her, kneeling next to her cot. She visibly bristled, but I kept my proximity.

"Rose? Rose, look at me." I tentatively reached for her chin, leading her face towards my own. "Do you truly think I told them of you?"

Her hard expression faltered, but she still pushed my hand from her chin. She sat up slowly, her gaze flitting back and forth between me and the wall.

"No." She choked out. "No, I don't think you did. But it was a British gentleman, one of your men."

"How do you know that?"

"They told me." She nodded towards the outside of the cell, where the guard would stand.

"Do you think you know who it was?"

"I have my suspicions." She responded, not meeting my gaze.

She slumped back down on the cot again, covering her face with her arm. She breathed deeply several times as I sat in restless anticipation, waiting for her to speak again. Then came a small voice from under the arm, sounding very distant and broken.

"I don't want to die, James." She said, her voice shaking.

She had only used my Christian name one other time, and in an entirely different setting. The sound of it now made me want to tear my own heart out and present it to her on bended knee.

"Hush now." I uttered, scooping her up into my chest by her shoulders. She wept silently into my chest, her shoulders shaking and body shuddering against mine. This was the first time she felt like a woman to me. What I expected of a woman, at least. Small and frail, something to be taken care of. I hated it. That wasn't my Rose at all. 

She was the first to pull away, pushing at my chest as she scrubbed tears from her eyes.

"What is it about you that makes me so damn emotional?" She scolded me, pushing at my chest. "It's a fucking hanging, not a funeral."

There she was.

"Well, I suppose I should assure you with the fact that I came across half of my crew on the way to meeting you, determined to set you free. Well, you and your crew." I smiled, gripping her arm tightly. "And I don't know how much I can promise you, but I can assure you they won't just let you die. And I won't, either."

There was a small glimmer of hope in her eyes, but it didn't look like she believed me. She probably thought that I'd prefer to protect my reputation than get mixed up with pirates. She truly didn't know how deeply my affection for her ran, and it almost amused me.

"I should be with my crew." She added, bringing me back to her as my thoughts wandered. "To reassure them. It does no good to be separated, especially at a time like this."

"They looked like they were doing well when I saw them." I assured her.

"Thank you." She answered gravely, attempting a smile. It sounded like she was thanking me for a great deal more than my dismissive comment.

I stood slowly, straightening my coat and twisting my neck. She stood with me, extending her hand. I took it, shaking it firmly, a very formal gesture after her emotional interlude.

"Don't despair." I said softly, my hand still entwined with hers. "Now, I don't mean to sound insensitive, but do you mind looking a little broken for me?"

She looked momentarily confused until I looked back into the corridor to where the guard would stand.

"Oh, certainly."

Then she proceeded to fling herself onto the floor and sobbed, a little too convincingly for my taste. I quickly turned to rattle the bars of the cell. A guard appeared after a few minutes and opened the door, looking taken-aback at the woman on the floor. I wasn't sure what he expected of me, but it certainly wasn't that from the look on his face. We carried on down the prison until Rose's sobs faded and we were at the entrance again, in front of the rest of her crew. I tipped my hat at the three guards now assembled in front of me.

"Thank you for your cooperation, gentlemen. I shall put in a good word to your employer for your good conduct." I praised them, a tactic to try and make them acquiesce to my next request. "But is it really necessary to give that woman the dignity of being in her own cell? I think she deserves to be hemmed in with these brutes on the night before she dies. Perhaps they'll teach her some manners."

They nodded, looking to one another.

"We didn't think of it that way, sir." One of them agreed with me, nudging his partner.

The partner in question brought out his keys and made his way down the corridor yet again.

"We only did it 'cause it's custom to keep the women separate." The first man blathered excuses while I tried to keep up the petulant Commodore routine.

It really was exhausting to act in such a way, I wondered how some of my comrades lived that way consistently. I supposed a lot of them died young, having tired themselves out too early.

The guard returned holding a subdued Rose, who had a suspicions lack of tears on her face after an impromptu sobbing fit, but none of the men seemed to notice. She didn't fight as one of them opened the cell of the pirates and forced her inside. She turned and gave me a miniscule nod of thanks before being engulfed into the crowd of pirates who swallowed her to protect their captain from the harsh edges of the outside world.

"A wise decision, gentlemen." I nodded at each of them in turn. "Have a pleasant night."

I walked swiftly out of the prison and even more swiftly past the taverns and pubs. There was the faintest glimmer of sunlight in the sky and I needed to get back up to the house well before dawn in order to formulate a plan. I ignored my burning lungs as I made my way up the hill, back up to the Englishman's house.

I burst into the landing and was shocked to find my men still down there. They were sprawled throughout the large entrance hall in various clusters, many of them nursing mugs in their hands.

"What did I say about returning to your beds?" I asked harshly as every eye fixed on me.

Johnson stood quickly, but none of the other seamen followed his lead. He sat again, slightly awkwardly and answered me from his sitting position.

"We all couldn't sleep sir, and thought it better to wait for you down here."

"And the housekeeper found us and asked us what we were doing." Someone interrupted cheerfully. "She brought us tea."

Several men lifted their mugs in acknowledgement.

"Fantastic." I muttered sarcastically. "Anyone else you'd like to tell? Perhaps you'd like to go and bang pots and pans in the town below?"

A lot of their eyes drifted to the floor as they shifted uncomfortably, some of them looking up at me resentfully. I paused, pinching the bridge of my nose; I had been playing the brutal Commodore for too long. It had seeped into my normal conversation.

"I'm sorry." I continued. "I haven't slept. I do hope one of you has a decent plan as I don't think I have the mental capacity for one currently."

"We've been discussing one, sir." Abbott waved at me, gesturing for me to come towards him. "It's a little far-fetched and it requires our host to be involved, but I think it'll work."

"Go ahead." I said as I sat beside him and other eager sailors, all desperate to relay their plan. I only had to hope that it was a good one, because in my current state I couldn't seem to distinguish what was good or bad any more. I only wanted to save Rose.

* * *

We all made our way down to the centre of town, me and my rag-tag group of sailors. We hadn't had a wink of sleep and all of our minds were set on a dramatic rescue mission. There was already a crowd formed to witness the hanging and the rope stood at the centre of the crowd, ominous and looming over us all. We dispersed throughout the crowd, no-one even glancing at us as we settled to pretend to watch the hanging. We waited until the sun had reached the point in the sky where everything just started to get hot, it's heavy rays beaming down on us. I was just starting to become uncomfortable in my uniform when the local policemen were seen escorting several men in chains, men who I recognized to be my pirates. Rose was among them. She looked stronger surrounded by her crew.

A guard pulled one of them towards the noose and the atmosphere of the crowd shifted. There was a change in mood, like a change of breeze. That anticipation for something horrid to happen that you wouldn't be able to wipe from your mind for the rest of the day, be it good or bad. They trifled through various declarations of piracy before finally pushing the pirate under the ominous swinging rope. The rope hung from his neck and my belief in our plan faltered, until a voice cut through the crowd and stopped the proceedings.

"What's the meaning of this?"

Everyone turned to look at the old man who had run up and was shouting from the back of the crowd. It was our host, the Englishman. He had been really rather compliant, actually. It was probably the same as the guards’ situation, only agreeable due to the fact that he rarely got any excitement in this portside town. But he had been very game at breakfast as we talked him through our history with these pirates and asked if he would assist us in their escape. He seemed fascinated with the entire plot and eager to help us. It was fortunate, really, as I didn't think we had a backup plan that didn't involve storming the prison and breaking them free using force.

"What are you doing?" Our host asked the guard who started, dropping the rope from his fingers.

"Hanging pirates, sir." The guard responded, confused.

"Pirates? And where are these pirates?" The Englishman continued.

He was acting pretty convincingly, for a nobleman. The guard's eyebrows knitted together before he turned and hesitantly gestured to the string of people in chains.

"And who told you that?"

The guard shrugged and turned to his comrades. One of them hopped up onto the platform beside him, looking out into the crowd. His eyes scanned the people milling around, watching and waiting for a hanging. Then he pointed abruptly, and we all followed his finger to a man who ducked beneath his hat the moment so many eyes were on him. Rodgers.

My jaw clenched and shifted, along with my fists behind my back. I resisted the urge to push through the crowd and throttle him. How dare he. _How dare he._ That petulant, arrogant Englishman. How dare he implicate the pirates, our pirates who had helped us so massively. All because he wasn't having fun, while we were. He was acting like a child, but children's actions didn't usually have such serious consequences.

"He's lying. These people aren't pirates!" Our host exclaimed. "They're from England. I hired them to work at my home."

All of the pirates looked to one another uncertainly, Rose instead choosing to find my eyes. I nodded minutely, and she stepped forward, as far as she could while still being chained to the person next to her.

"It's true." She said, giving her best English accent.

It sounded like she was impersonating me, in a funny little way, and I wasn't sure I appreciated it. Did I always sound quite so stuck up?

"Then why did you resist so much?" The guard asked obtrusively.

He was starting to look uneasy and nervous about the prospect that there may not be a hanging today, which would cause quite a riot among the bloodthirsty crowd.

"How would you like to be falsely imprisoned?" Rose retorted sharply. I willed her not to continue, or they may hang her anyway.

"These people came to work for me." Our host insisted. "Release them."

The guards hesitated, looking to one another.

"Are you going to ignore a man under the protection of the British navy?" I stepped forward, arching my eyebrow.

My final insistence jolted the guards into action, and they stepped forward to undo their chains while the crowd booed and hissed. The pirates were released and ushered towards the two of us, my men making their way through the crowd to form a protective layer around the vulnerable pirates.

Before we left, I shouldered my way over to Rodgers, who had made the stupid mistake of not running away when he was called out. I pulled him towards me roughly by his collar before he could bolt, and he paled as he saw my livid features so close to his own.

"Why did you tell them?" I hissed.

While he flustered, I sighed, releasing his collar and resisting the urge to punch him in the jaw. I flexed my hand instead, thinking of Rose and whether she'd approve of me outright assaulting someone.

"You're dismissed." I spat instead, turning from him and speaking over my shoulder. "I suggest you try to find work before leaving this island."

We left as the rabble kicked up a fuss behind us, shouting angrily about justice and wasting people's time. We started as though making our way up to the Englishman's house, but split off instead to go down to the pier. We paused, though, to bid a temporary farewell to our host.

"Thank you, sir." Rose stuck her hand out.

He looked at it hesitantly before taking her hand in his own and shaking it, like he would a man's.

"I don't know you, and yet I am deeply indebted to you. I owe my life to you."

"Nonsense, my dear." Our host said kindly. "Your sailors saved you. They told me everything, and it seems as though you're even now."

"No, we're still in dept to them." Rose turned to me, smiling wryly. "They saved us from drowning. We saved them from dying in the open ocean. And now that they've saved us from hanging, I fear we'll never catch up."

The Englishman's eyes strayed to mine and he smiled at me encouragingly while Rose's eyes were still on me.

"Good luck to you all." He waved his hat at us before turning to make his way up to his house.

As we walked down to the port, the beauty of the Caribbean island seemed to finally hit me. Lush greenery, a vast expanse of blue sky and a hot breeze on my face when someone walked up beside me and took my arm. I looked down to see Rose threading her arm through mine. A way to get closer to me so her voice couldn't be heard by her men, I believed, but it was still nice. I hadn't had a woman on my arm in this fashion for such a long time.

"I rather like you stern." She muttered to me, keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead.

"When have I been stern?" I asked her amusedly.

"To Rodgers just now. And those guards last night." She said, her arm tightening. "I am disappointed you didn't punch Rodgers, though. It seemed like the opportune moment."

"You know, I considered it. But I thought of you and I didn't." I looked to her bemused face and laughed. "I know, I clearly forgot who you were. You would've perfectly approved of me punching him, wouldn't you?"

"I'm sorely tempted to go back and do it myself." She responded.

We reached the port, which was unusually silent as everyone was still at the riot of a non-hanging.

"Thank you." Rose uttered at my side as we continued to meander. "I thought myself dead."

"Never." I whispered, pulling her arm closer to mine.

I stopped abruptly in front of a ship and everyone else followed suit. Rose took this as her queue to leave, unwinding her arm from mine while extending the other to shake my hand.

"We can take it from here." She declared, shrugging, her arm rising and falling with her.

"No."

"Pardon?"

"No." I insisted. "Take our ship."

We both paused to look at the ship, my ship, that we had stopped in front of.

"Excuse me?" She flustered, dropping her arm.

"I said; take our ship."

"You've got to be kidding me." She shook her head, stepping backwards.

"I'm not." I assured her, reaching out to take her arm and pull her back towards me. "I'm deadly serious. Take it."

"I can't." She shook her head, nervously avoiding my gaze.

"Why not? If someone steals your ship, there's nothing you can do. We'll have to wait a few weeks for Britain to send out a new ship, but there are worse places to be stranded, aren't there?" I gestured at the Caribbean island around us. "You know how to sail it, and you have enough men on your crew to operate it."

She still looked unsure, so I seized her by both shoulders, forcing her gaze to fix on mine.

"You're a pirate, for God's sakes." I said in an attempt to rally her.

She thought for a moment before breaking into a smile.

"We're stealing a ship, lads!" She called out and her men cheered.

She gestured at my ship and her men started to make their way on board. Many of them stopped to shake hands and hug with their British counterparts. It was odd thinking on it, but they were all the same in heart. It just so happened that we were on the side of the flag, and they weren't. A few of the braver pirates approached me and thanked me personally, shaking my hand.

"It should be fully stocked, should you decide to travel by wind again." I told her as another one of her men retreated from me.

"You know, I might chart a course this time, just to spite you." She said slyly, looking at me from the corner of her eyes.

As the last of her men trailed up the gangplank she turned to me. We had already said goodbye to one another on my ship, but it hadn't felt so final that time. We were busy sailing into port and she was preparing her men for a voyage that they would never complete. This time, everything was still. Water lapped gently against the dock supports, creating a soothing rhythm as her men looked over the side of my boat and my men stood sedately behind me, allowing us to ruminate on the fact that we wouldn't see one another again.

"I suppose this is goodbye then." She shrugged, looking to the floor.

"Yes. You will look after yourself, won't you?" I asked, and she looked to me, amused.

"Of course I will." She responded. "I'll be a damn sight better than when being with you. I've never been in more close encounters in my life."

I chuckled to myself; perhaps a pirate’s life wasn't as full of near-death experiences as I thought. She grinned too and extended her hand out to me.

"Farewell, Commodore. James." She added as an afterthought.

"Goodbye, Captain Rose."

I took her hand firmly and shook it, her hand warm and firm in my own. As we shook, a glint came into her eye and she yanked at my arm, pulling me down towards her. I stumbled, teetering as she forced her lips against mine. I started, painfully aware of her men staring down and my men looking on at us, and my arms flailed in the air. I thought I could hear vague whoops and cheers, but the sound of our men was drowned out by the blood rushing to my ears as I kissed her, able to feel her pleasant mouth on mine again. My arms settled on her waist and I felt momentarily high, my mind blank yet entirely focused on her.

She pulled away, smiling idly at my stricken face, then turned and walked away before I had time to embarrass myself. My eyes were trained on her as she walked up the gangplank to join her crew. A couple of her men pulled the ropes free and my men stepped forward, surrounding me to bid them farewell. A couple of them clapped me on the shoulders, but my gaze remained fixed on Rose; she did belong on a ship. She looked majestic standing on the deck of her ship, as still as I was as her men jostled around her to wave back at mine. We stood on the pier until the figures on the ship blurred, which is when my men stopped waving and began to trickle back up to the Englishman's house. I stayed, staring out at that blur of a ship until only a few of my men remained.

"Are you coming up, sir?" Abbot asked at my shoulder.

"In a moment." I said distantly.

My remaining men stepped away to make their own way back up to the Englishman's house, leaving me alone on the pier. I watched the boat until it became a speck on the horizon, then finally turned away from the open ocean. The mob had dispersed so the port was a lot busier now, people busily weaving their way around me in their hurried, non-stop pace. My gaze lifted, to the lush green hillsides and our host's house sitting among the greenery.

Yes, there were worse places to be stranded. But there were better people to be stranded with.

_fin_ _~_


End file.
